Amelia Island Concours to celebrate the cars of Harry A. Miller

The late historian Griffith Borgeson, a prime authority on early racing history, called Harry Armenius Miller “the greatest creative genius in the history of the American racing car.” The surviving examples of his work are among the most prized early American cars of any sort in existence. Next March, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will mark the 90th anniversary of Miller’s first win at the Indianapolis 500 by including the spectacular racing cars among its feature marques.

At least a dozen early Millers are expected to be on the show field, the gathering organized in great measure by auction chieftain Dana Mecum, who now leads The Friends of Harry Miller. Miller cars and engines won the Indy 500 a total of 11 times. The fabled Offenhauser four-cylinder racing engine, which remained competitive into the 1970s, was spun off an early design for a Miller marine engine. Among the anticipated cars on hand will be the sole Miller V-16 known to exist.

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will take place the weekend of March 8-10. For more information, visit AmeliaConcours.org.

DougRsays:

October 25, 2012 10:47 am

theolddogsays:

October 25, 2012 6:34 pm

Dale Sheltonsays:

October 26, 2012 2:34 pm

I was fortunate to see a late 20’s Sprint car at an airshow in Dunnellon, Florida back around 2003 or 2004. It had the cowl mounted hand operated oil pump and the left side mounted external barke lever common to the racers. While checking out the cockpit, I noticed a plaque noting this car was a 1929 Indianoplis 500 participant. About this time, the owner and a friend backed up to the racer with an enclosed hauler and proceeded to begin to roll the car into the hauler. I was able to ask him a couple of hurried questions while he was working to beat the approaching thunderstorm. His car is a real Miller, it was in 2 Indy races, & he still campaigns it in historic events. I didn’t have a camera and due to not noticing this little jewel off to the side of the ramp away from the WWII bombers and fighters on static display, did not have sufficient time to enjoy viewing this rare car. The owner teased me that if I had shown up earlier, he would have started it for me so I could hear a real Miller. Still Kicking my own Derriere.

Dan Johnsonsays:

October 31, 2012 4:43 pm

My wife and I flew to Washington Island WI one year for the annual fish boil and crashed a wedding of the daughter of a “predominant” residents.
It turned out to be the one and only Chuck Davis. I talked to him at the reception and he invited us back the next day to see his car collection. We went and saw the biggest collection of Miller racers on earth including the V16 beauty. Mr Davis was very proud of the fact that he drove all his cars on and off the trailers when he went to shows. Here is a quote from the 2009 auction bill after Mr Davis passing: The story of the V16’s re-combination of its original parts is nearly legendary and well described by Joe Freeman as, “…the old Miller that was truly magically fated to come back together”. Equally legendary is the effort, perserverence, and attention to detail that Chuck Davis demonstrated in his quest to restore the fabled car.
I feel very fortunate to have been able to see, feel and smell these wonderful cars.
Dan

t. Moondancersays:

November 4, 2012 12:45 am

Going through my collection of board track pictures, the only one I have that matches those particular pit walls is Laurel, Maryland, a 1.125 mile track that existed between 1926 and `27. It was built in only 7 weeks, and used 5 million feet of southern yellow pine. The turns had a 48 degree banking! PS: A mere 3 million board feet of lumber is 568 miles, just to put things in prospective…